Is Russia Going To War With Turkey? Moscow's Ambassador Shot In Ankara Before Syria Peace Talks

UPDATED: 2:28 p.m. EST - Turkish authorities detained Monday the mother and sister of Mert Altintas, the Turkish police officer who assassinated the Russian ambassador to Turkey as he spoke at an Ankara art exhibition, according to Turkish daily Hurriyet's English-language website. Altintas shouted political and religious slogans before he shot dead Ambassador Andrei Karlov one day before major talks between Russia, Turkey and Iran were set to place in Moscow regarding the conflict in Syria.

UPDATED: 1:48 p.m. EST - The man who shot dead the Russian ambassador to Turkey Monday has been identified as Mert Altintas, a former Turkish police officer. Ambassador Andrei Karlov was speaking at a photography exhibition before Altintas shouted political and religious slogans and shot Karlov dead just one day before major Syria peace talks were set to take place between Russia, Turkey and Iran in Moscow.

UPDATED: 12:30 p.m. EST — The Russian ambassador to Turkey was pronounced dead shortly after a gunman shot him in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday. Ambassador Andrei Karlov was speaking at an art gallery when he got shot in the back one day before major Syria peace talks were set to begin between Russia, Turkey and Iran.

Original Story - The Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot by suspected Islamists in the Turkish capital city of Ankara on Monday, Reuters reported.

Ambassador Andrei Karlov was gunned down while making a speech at an art exhibition, according to Turkish English-language daily Hurriyet, which accompanied the article with a graphic picture of an injured man and cited Russian embassy sources. The attackers spoke Russian and shouted "God is great" in Arabic before opening fire. They also destroyed artwork, according to AP.

Conflicting reports have surfaced about Karlov's condition, while at least two others were also reported injured. Security forces have since surrounded the building.

The attack came one day before the foreign and defense ministers of Russia and Iran, supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country's five-year civil war, were set to meet their Turkish counterpart, who backs the Syrian opposition. The meeting would have taken place in Moscow as an attempt to establish a consensus on the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani over the phone and expressed his desire for Moscow and Tehran to facilitate a timely resolution of the Syrian crisis.

Russia, Iran and Turkey have come to the table as a response to a recent major victory by the Syrian army and its allies in regaining control over Aleppo, the country's former commercial capital and largest city. As the army advanced into the city backed by Russian airstrikes and Iran-supported militias, rebels were forced into pockets in the eastern sections of the city, forcing a ceasefire among reports of heavy civilian casualties and subsequent humanitarian evacuations.

Turkey launched a major intervention against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in northern Syria in August. The operation, entitled Euphrates Shield, backed Syrian opposition forces, but alienated many Kurds, who have been at odds with both ISIS and the Turkish government.